Song of the Day

Song of the Day > All Episodes

January 20, 2023

Redbud: “Sad On The North Side”

By: Jack Anderson

Over the past couple months, both on air and online, we here at KUTX have all been geeking out over this rising four-piece Redbud. I mean, they’re immaculate. Redbud’s misty indie-psych-pop swamp almost obscures how much each member dedicates to this project; on surface value they all kind of seem too cool for school (especially frontwoman Katie Claghorn), but when you listen to their recordings, you can instantly tell how disciplined and demiurgic this dual dyad is.

This year Redbud’s raring to release their debut EP, The Long Night. If you’re a crusty ex-Game of Thrones fan, don’t be discouraged by its title. Rather than a bungled, essentially-meaningless attempt that could never live up to its own hype, Redbud’s The Long Night is a concise, five-track masterpiece of unearthly arrangements, airtight structures, and a caliber of songwriting we rarely hear from relative newcomers.

The Long Night drops February 24th and Redbud plays 10:15PM tonight opening for The Stacks’ EP Release show at Hotel Vegas. So while you get ready to get rowdy on the east side, practice your howls at home with the sickly sweet “Sad On The North Side”. Expect plenty more mesmerizing percussion patterns, intriguing chord changes, and ghostly vocals to haunt your ear drums through the weekend.


Episodes

May 2, 2024

Mikky & The Doom: “Garbage, USA”

In most situations, if you got it, flaunt it. But in an industry that demands infinitely more from your ears than from your eyes, if the hottest person on the planet doesn’t have the pipes to match their looks, they probably don’t have a shot at succeeding as a singer. So let’s talk newcomer Mikky […]

Listen

May 1, 2024

Emily Shirley: “Morning Light”

It’s the classic end to an encounter. You meet someone new. Sparks seemingly fly. You have fun for a night. But when you wake up ready to tell your new boo you’d like to see ’em again…they’re long gone. Hell, and in the modern era, that might all happen on just on an app alone. […]

Listen

April 30, 2024

Grandmaster: “Castle Door”

Watch out, Golden Dawn Arkestra…there’s a new costumed collective in town, and they’re hunting for for fresh converts! But instead of frenetic Afro-inspired dance grooves, these fanatics have so far stuck to the slower side of ’70s-style jazz funk rock; think War whisked together with Steely Dan. Not that you’d be able to tell from […]

Listen

April 29, 2024

Trip Cigs: “Comeback Kid”

When a seasoned musician wades out of their genre comfort zone, you love to hear it. Because the technical expertise, jam stamina, and songwriting skills are already in place, but opening the gate to different inspirations and influences is always a welcome breath of fresh air. So let’s talk Rod Gator, who – as you […]

Listen

April 24, 2024

Viben: “Pablo Picasso”

Lyrics are a fickle field. You can be wordy as hell, hoping that at least one line sticks in listener’s minds. Or, you could just loop the hell out of some barebones sentences – guaranteed to have a lot more hypnotic staying power through sheer repetition, especially in the realm of dance music. Now let’s […]

Listen

April 24, 2024

Rett Smith: “Sunsets”

In terms of musical association, at least outside the world of film soundtracks, U.S. southwestern scenery often gets associated with country. But there’s a certain psychedelic quality to our regional deserts that we just love to see artists embrace. Folks like Rett Smith, based here in Austin, but bred out of West Texas, so you […]

Listen

April 23, 2024

Ruel Thomas: “I Am Today”

Any profession requires quotas…whether that’s how many tickets you write or how many kids pass your class. And when music is your source of income, the obvious metric to measure by is quantity of shows played. But as with any creative endeavor, there’s an opportunity to move the needle in many directions, which makes “success” […]

Listen

April 22, 2024

Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors: “Suffering”

The very nature of Americana is rooted in traditional music. But it also lies at the crossroads between folk, country, and rock. So if an Americana act decides to veer into new lanes, the choices are limited and somewhat predictable. And yet it’s still such a joy to hear an artist explore new sonic territory, […]

Listen